Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-08-17
LLANO.
The Coming Birmingham " of Texa.
Prognosis and PrognosticatioH.

with q 1rlend, hSnlnG spanking team
of bays, we left Burnet, where they have
lots Of granite bus not much water, sud
IN six hours reached this delightful ard
now much excited liltle town OF 1000 In
habitants.
LIano is beautifully situated on the
south banks of the Llano river, clear,
rapid flowing stream Of pure, sparkling
water, which VIII quench the thirst Of the
city even when il grows TO be sS large as
Birmingham or Pittsburg. TIE town Is
compact, clean and well kept. a three
story stone hotel, g $40, 900 courthouse, G
SIC, 600 granite free school building just
completed, several churches, town hall,
substantial eId c0mmodious business
houses, some of brick, some Of stone and
some of wood.
The people ere wide awake yeASJdst
now they are awful wide awaken Ask
them the price OF their properly within
two miles OF the courthouse and their
ans Hers would make you think they arg
crazy. l have talked to the big men sM
IN e town, and TO the ordinary, common
citizen, and even to the boys, ten to If
teen years old. and | am positive there is
not q person of the male gender in the
whole "buTg" who is not dreaming Of G.
"Trip to Europe" or sail across the
ocean "on his own private yacht" or 8
whole railroad of his own with his private
car pitched on behind, or something else
very ''rith and gsudy," when the Llano
boom gets right down 10 business.
The business men, the lawyers, meT-
chants and bankers use ''irOn rock' for
paper weights. The hotel proprietor
led me back to his 'private
ssnctum" and showed me & beautiful
lot of "iron rock" specimens. The
leading merchant Of the town
led me through his store
to the back yard, end there lay beauti-
full pile Of iron rock. Every public
office in the court house has its little pile
of iron rock IN one corner. Every
where you so you are sure 10 see some
iron rock. The whole population seems
10 have iron rock on the brain, and they
all call it by the same name-iron rock.
interviewed the following parties: The
confidential clerk ana attorney of this big
northern syndicate who are buying up
the whole country; 8 big, fat, Jolly man,
who is lawyer; a losu, nervous little
man, who is trader; white hsired CID
gentleman, who is banker, and lsme
man with tine voice, who is livery
stable keeper. AGd, out of the whole
lot, the most uncOnC9rned and the least
excited of all was the northern syndicate
man. He talked real ordinary, acted just
like common folks, seemed as calm and
conteIted ss country jske whiting on
s dry goods box at 8 cross roads store.
He cid not seem to know muCh-couid
cot or would not "lell lie all about it,"
This northern syndicate have rented q
large Office up stairs, and lots of iron
rock lay piled around the room.
The fat, lazy looking lawyer said, "it
was all right" Said the "boom" was
coming sure. Said he knew it had to
come sometime, and that il was this very
thing that induced him to settle in Llano
several years SGD.
The lean, nervous little mGn said his
fortune was made. Said he owned 100
acres of land adjoining the town, which
would give him all the wealth he wanted.
lie told me of a man in Atlanta, Ga, who
invested $50, 900 in Birmingham, Ala,
ten years ago, and the property was
worth to-day 81 100000. Said he saw an
account of it in the papers.
The white haired Old gentleman told
me the "iron men," as be called them,
had psid out thousands of dollars for
iron lands in the county through his
bank. Said the amount was nearly
5000
The lame man, with the fine voice, told
me that the "iron men" patroniZed his
stable. Said he had driven them around
Through the county great many times.
Said he had heard them talk between
themselves, and he accidentally over
hesrd them say one day that their ma
chinery would cost them a. the lowest
calculation So, 100000
Dear GAZETTE, did you ever attend sn
Indian war dance? | never, but | have
read about them, and l believe
true representation Of one can be seen
here any dsy.
These people over here don't see
enough OF THE GAZETTE. They can't
have first class boom without THE GA.
ZETTE, can they? tell them this, and
think l will succeed in making them be-
lieve it before l get away.
And now for 8 few facts and am done,
for this time.
tiad that g syndicate of Wisconsin,
Pennsylvania and New York capitalists
have bought so ut %, 600 acres of iron
lands in this county, running from north
west to southeast through the town OF
Llano, and that they are still buying.
They have had assays Of the ore made by
Carnegie Bros. < Co. of Plttsburg, which
show remarkable tineness. They say
they will ship machinery here IS soon as
the Austin and Northwestern Railroad
extension from Burnet to Llsno is COM
p!eted. They say They will get their coke
from Eagle Pass, where they own tine
coal fields. They say their Llano iron is
the finest on the continent. They say
their mines will produce 1000 600 tC
100000 tons of ore per year after the
first year.
The payments made for these lands have
greatly relieved the people Of the county
Everybody seems to have plenty Of mon
ey. This is the greatest place evel
struck. The people are so awfully happy
l am catching the "fever" myself, be
lieve, and am so impressed with the
outlook tor the city of Llano thst au
getting excited" too, and if can ind s
small tract-a very small tract-of land
within few miles of the court house,
think will buy 1t before l leave.
II the A. and n. w. Il. R. gets ia from
Burnet, or If the president Of this iror
syndicate arrives from the east with his
10000 iron miners before l leave here,
will write you again. Yours,
IRON ROCK.